Never has there been a mont in his life when Darien has wanted to strangle soone this badly. He should have known... should have known better when the twins acted like they couldn’t care less about Heidi, bullying her, and giving them so shitty advice about treating her ugly, and seeing if the bond could be revoked— of that he bought that bullshit anyway.
However, he should have seen through the cracks. He should have known how cunning the twins could be. Just like their mother, they are coy bastards. Look at them stabbing him and Amias in the back, going all out for Heidi, and even claiming her.
The thoughts of the possibilities of what they could have done with her in there drives him nuts. Pain explodes behind his eyeballs, almost blinding and sending him staggering.
But NO. He will not be pathetic over a girl, but he wouldn’t sit back and watch himself get cheated by his dumb little brothers.
"So we marked her. And we’ll do it again, if we want." Morgan leans forward, sneering. "Next ti, Darien, don’t wait for permission like a good little son, and if you do, don’t co whining to us about your missed chances."
Darien’s fury explodes. "You think..." his voice shakes, his eyes burn, "... you think just because you marked her first, that makes you better than ? Than Amias?"
Morgan’s smirk sharpens. "Well... soone had to show her how it feels to be properly claid."
Grayson adds tauntingly, "She was sweet, you know. Sweeter than I imagined. Fierce, too. Scratched up like a wildcat." He pushes his collar aside, revealing faint and almost disappearing red scars trailing down his neck.
The twins do not let up.
Morgan leans back against the desk as though the ruins of the study were a lounge, picking at his nails like this was all beneath him. "You should’ve heard her, Darien. Goddess above, the way she said my na..." He presses a hand to his chest. "I almost felt bad for you, big brother."
Grayson snorts, folding his arms. "She didn’t say your na half as much as she scread mine. Tell him, Morgan."
Morgan grins, eyes alight with mischief. "Oh, she did. Loud. So loud. Thought the whole damn labyrinth was gonna co crashing down on us. If you’d been there, you’d know she doesn’t hold back."
Darien’s stomach twists, his fists clenching until his knuckles whiten. Heat climbs up his neck, roaring in his ears. How dare they? How DARE THEY?!
"You lying bastards..."
"Lying?" Grayson interrupts, his head cocking to the side. "Do I need to show you the marks she left on again? They’re not lies, brother. They’re proof." He pulls his collar wider, showing off faint scars like they were trophies.
Darien’s vision tunnels. His wolf claws at the inside of his skin, demanding to be let out, demanding blood.
But Amias interrupts. He straightens from the shadows without a word. For a mont Darien thinks he’ll attack, tear into the twins, and shut their filthy mouths for good. But no. Amias doesn’t so much as spare them a glance. He turns and walks out the door.
The twins don’t bother to taunt him. His silence is satisfying enough.
Darien watches his brother’s back until it disappears into the hall, and sothing inside him clenches. Amias may look cold, detached, but Darien knows him too well. Every word the twins spat cut him as deeply as they cut Darien. Maybe deeper. He just hides it better.
For a heartbeat, Darien wants to follow him. But the rage is too boiling to be let alone. Hence, he stays.
He turns his fury back on his younger brothers. His voice is shaking from the effort of keeping it steady. "If you ever—ever... touch her again without thinking about what you’re doing to this family, I swear by the Moon herself, I’ll end you both. Do you hear ?"
The twins glance at each other, then grin in eerie synchrony.
"End us?" Morgan repeats, chuckling. "You can’t even end your own hesitation, brother."
Grayson flashes teeth. "But by all ans, try."
Darien doesn’t give them the satisfaction of a reply. His body feels like it’s made of fire and splinters. He can feel his rage and exhaustion tangling until it’s hard to breathe. He storms out, slamming the ruined door behind him.
He doesn’t have business exchanging words with the twins. Everything is always going to be a ga to them. He knows better than that. Thus, the most rational thing to do is to go find answers where they are; with Heidi.
Only she can explain this madness. How slutty could she be to open the sa legs she opened for him to his brothers? How stupid could she be to let them mark her?
Hell, she’ll answer to him tonight. No matter what.
The corridors are quieter than usual, the night humming with a soft chorus of cicadas. Darien doesn’t notice. His head is full of Heidi—her trembling lips against his, the way she had looked at him like the bond was sothing sacred. And now this. The twins. The marks. The audacity.
His boots pound against the cobblestones as he crosses the courtyard, ignoring the small clusters of female students wandering back to their dorms. They stop to stare, to whisper, to call his na with shy voices and flushed cheeks. Darien doesn’t so much as blink in their direction. He doesn’t have space for them. Not when his insides feel like they’re splitting apart.
By the ti he reaches the dormitories, his chest aches with the force of his breathing. The building for the year one above stands quiet, bathed in silver moonlight. A couple of students loiter outside, murmuring to one another when they spot him.
He doesn’t care about their opinions or the questions they don’t dare present to him. Questions like: "What’s an Alpha doing here?"
They’ll find out soon enough, because he doesn’t plan on subtlety with her—the she-devil, tonight.
He strides up to them. "Where’s Heidi’s room?"
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